The Draft Colaba

By A Draft Colaba Correspondent

On 23 March 2022, on the occasion of Shaheed Diwas, the Western Naval Command (WNC) organised a walk and a slew of functions to commemorate the Naval Uprising of 1946. The sword arm of the Indian Navy, WNC, organised a Naval Uprising Commemorative Walk on Wednesday morning to highlight the navy's deep connection with the city of Mumbai. It was a Prabhat Pheri, a short awareness walk, that commenced at 0800 hours at Marine Drive.

TRIBUTES: Chief Guest Aditya Thackeray paid homage to the revolutionaries

The walk began at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) with full Josh to the martial music tunes by the naval band with school children, Sea Cadet Corps and veterans and a few enthusiastic citizens who marched along as well. The commemorative walk culminated at the Naval Uprising Memorial at Cooperage in Colaba.

MARCHING TOGETHER: The Naval Uprising Commemorative Walk commenced at Marine Drive

During the main commemorative event, Chief Guest Aditya Thackeray laid a wreath at the memorial which is open to visitors from 1130 hours onward till 0800 hours to pay floral tributes to the revolutionaries of the Indian freedom movement.

Shaheed Diwas is observed every year on 23 March to pay tributes to Indian revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev who were hanged to death by the British Government in 1931 in the Lahore Conspiracy Case.

UNITED: School children and citizens participated in the walk as well

The Naval Uprising of 1946, also known as the 1946 Royal Indian Navy Mutiny, was the last war of independence. The mutiny started onboard HMIS Talwar, a shore establishment with a signals school at Colaba (in Bombay), on 18 February 1946. It soon found support throughout India resulting in more than 20,000 sailors in 78 ships revolting against the British government in India.

To commemorate the uprising, viewed as a key event in India's freedom struggle, a memorial was erected at Cooperage in Colaba in Mumbai by the Western Naval Command on 4 December 2001 known as the Naval Uprising Memorial.

UNSUNG: The Indian Navy tableau depicting the uprising during Republic Day Parade 2022

Interestingly, this year on Republic Day Parade 2022, Indian Navy's tableau depicted the 1946 Naval revolt that had rocked the shackles of the British Empire a year before the country became free. The tableau featured one of the 'unsung' episodes in the history of India’s freedom struggle and was led by Lieutenant Commander Aanchal Sharma with a marching contingent.

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